BRIDGE TO COMPLETION 2020 Understanding the College Access and Success Ecosystem for Metro Nashville Public Schools Students Bridge to Completion 2020 3 REFLECTIONS Since 2018, we have partnered with the Tennessee College Access and Success Network to present findings and recommendations around Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) students’ college matriculation and completion. In our previous reports, we identified specific actions to close college access and success gaps among students of different races and ethnicities and improve the college-going rates for all MNPS students. This year, we again examine MNPS students’ college-going and completion experiences while also investigating the underlying root causes for why disparities in academic preparation and affordability exist. We are certainly pleased to see that more MNPS students are earning a degree from a postsecondary institution. However, the 26% of MNPS graduates earning a degree is well below the national average of 40%. And increased college access and success gaps among students of color and white students are a significant concern. Ultimately Nashville and the state of Tennessee must decide if we truly believe that all students benefit from and should have access to a postsecondary credential. That means examining and dismantling the inequities baked into our K-12 systems that prevent low-income students and students of color from accessing rigorous college- preparatory coursework, excellent teachers in every classroom, and supportive school-based adults to guide them in their college-going journey. As I write this, Nashville is still recovering from a deadly tornado that ravaged the city and is now battling the global coronavirus pandemic. Yet despite the destruction and suffering, we have seen amazing actions of empathy, support, and love among neighbors and strangers. Our city has proven time and time again that it can come together and bolster those in need at times of crisis. I look forward to the day when that level of empathy and support is extended to all MNPS students in their postsecondary journeys. Katie Cour President and CEO Nashville Public Education Foundation 4 Bridge to Completion 2020 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are deeply grateful to Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) staff for the many hours of interviews and data gathering they provided for this report, without which it would not exist. So many different professionals were extremely generous with their time and information for this project. It takes great courage to give an outside entity your data and let them reflect it back to you. We hope this report helps illuminate how hard MNPS employees work every day to create greater success for Nashville’s public school students. This report builds on the work in two previous Bridge to Completion reports that would not have been possible without the dozens of professionals across K-12, higher education, community organizations, local government, business, and philanthropy who lent their expertise. In particular, we offer a special thank-you to our data expert, Jennifer McFerron, who provided numerous insights throughout the project. We are deeply grateful to multiple people in both leadership and direct service positions at the following schools and organizations who generously gave their time to be interviewed for this report: Conexión Américas GEAR UP Nashville Martha O’Bryan Center Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Central Office Metro Nashville Public High Schools Metro Nashville Public Middle Schools Nashville State Community College Oasis Center If readers are interested in viewing any of the Bridge to Completion reports online, they can do so at nashvillepef.org/advocating-for-change/. ABOUT THE AUTHOR The Tennessee College Access and Success Network (TCASN) is a nationally recognized, statewide nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase the number of Tennesseans with a postsecondary credential and foster a culture of college-going across the state. TCASN’s team has decades of collective expertise that span state government, federal college access programs, urban and rural initiatives, curriculum design, and the nonprofit sector. The Nashville Public Education Foundation funded this research and partnered with TCASN to create this report. Learn more at www.tncollegeaccess.org and www.nashvillepef.org. Bridge to Completion 2020 5 CONTENTS Note to Reader 6 Executive Summary 7 College Access and Completion: Data for Graduates of MNPS 11 College Access and Success for MNPS Graduates: A Year Later 12 College Enrollment 13 College Persistence 17 College Completion 18 Understanding the College Access and Success Ecosystem for MNPS Students 19 Finding 1: Poverty and trauma force the triage of basic needs to be prioritized above college-going culture in many MNPS schools. 21 Finding 2: Maintaining a consistent, stable network of adults in a school is essential to high school students’ postsecondary aspirations and success. 23 Finding 3: Academic preparation and college affordability remain barriers to college completion, and the two are intrinsically linked. 25 Finding 4: MNPS graduates are attending a broader set of colleges than ever before, a sign that district and community investments in college counseling may be helping more students select “right fit” colleges. 27 Recommendations To Improve College Access and Success for MNPS Students 31 Recommendation 1: Eliminate economic barriers for low-income students and students of color. 32 Recommendation 2: Address systemic inequities that inhibit low-income and students of color from graduating ready to pursue postsecondary opportunities. 33 MNPS High School Profiles 35 Endnotes 76 6 Bridge to Completion 2020 NOTE TO READER For the purposes of this report, the term “college” refers Data on college enrollment is from the TDOE, which is to any formal training after high school, including publicly available in the department’s Report Cards, and technical certification, associate degree, and bachelor’s from the National Student Clearinghouse. Using these degree programs. The phrase “college-going” refers two sources together paints a richer picture of college- to college enrollment, usually college enrollment going than using either in isolation. The two data immediately following high school graduation. sources track information slightly differently but overall have close results and show similar trends. We know of no other city that has such an extensive report on college-going. If one exists, it has not been This report highlights issues of poverty and college publicly shared. When ascertaining how Nashville affordability facing MNPS graduates. For this report, compares to other communities, the reader should we use the term low-income to refer to economic remember the information presented in this report disadvantage, which mirrors language used in college contains data that other communities may not have the access and success research. For K-12 schools, the term ability to access. more commonly used is economically disadvantaged. While this report includes data for all MNPS high schools, It is important to note that recent policy changes it focuses primarily on what is happening at Nashville’s have affected how many students are considered zoned high schools and charter schools. Due to the economically disadvantaged. Currently, 51% of MNPS school-specific nature of many interventions, high school students are considered economically disadvantaged.i profiles for most of the high schools in the district are In 2015-16, the definition of economically disadvantaged included at the end of this report. Whenever district data changed in accordance with state law. Previously, is presented, it is inclusive of all high schools in Metro Tennessee used eligibility for the National School Nashville including four high schools we did not profile Lunch Program as an indicator; now the state uses due to their unique structure and/or population served: direct certification of benefits to define economic Metro Nashville Virtual School and the three Simon disadvantage. Prior to the change, 75% of MNPS Academies located at Hickory Hollow, Old Cockrill, and students were considered economically disadvantaged. Opry Mills. Because of this report’s focus on college For the purposes of this report, when we report on access and success, only high schools that have had at high school students being low-income, we use a 1.6 least one graduating class as of May 2018 are included. multiplier to the TDOE’s reported data. We found this most closely aligns with other measures of income In preparing the report, we had access to multiple data status, including Estimated Family Contribution on the sources including data from the Tennessee Department Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and of Education (TDOE), Tennessee Higher Education Pell grant eligibility, both considered standard markers Commission (THEC), National Student Clearinghouse of income status in higher education. (NSC), Nashville State Community College (NSCC), the U.S Department of Education (USDOE), and The role and use of data in both K-12 and higher MNPS. Additionally, a number of community-based education has been an increasing focus; however, organizations graciously shared their data. these two systems still lack a common language, as in the example with low-income and economically As is often the case in education, data is not perfect; disadvantaged above. Our hope is that this report however, our observations across the multiple